Hopkins’s Office of Facilities and Real Estate is progressing in the development of “3200 St. Paul,” a student housing and retail building project to be constructed on the former Olmsted Lot at the corner of 33rd and St. Paul Streets.
Assistant Director of Hopkins Facilities and Real Estate David McDonough explained the project’s timeline.
“If the Baltimore City building permit process proceeds on schedule, building construction will be underway in March 2015. With a spring 2015 construction start, the project is scheduled to be completed and open for occupancy by August 2016,” McDonough wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
McDonough said that progress has been made since Oct. 16, when The News-Letter lastpublished an update on the building plans.
“After numerous meetings this past fall with Hopkins, the community and the City, in December, the Baltimore City Planning Commission approved the design of the 3200 St. Paul Street Project... The Development Team of Armada Hoffler and Beatty Development are now working with their design and engineering team to prepare construction documents for City permits,” McDonough wrote.
While Hopkins upperclassmen students will be able to live in the building, the University is financially independent of the project.
“This is a privately designed, built, financed, owned and operated mixed-use project,” McDonough wrote. “The private developer, not [Hopkins], is funding this project. While the project is being developed on land owned by [the University], Hopkins is not funding any part of this project.”
In the October article, Hopkins Facilities and Real Estate explained that several entertainment and food vendors would rent space at 3200 St. Paul. So far, only one retail store has been officially confirmed.
“As noted last October, the Development Team was seeking a national pharmacy as a key retail tenant. It is now official. The Development Team has signed a lease with CVS,” McDonough wrote.
The choice of CVS received positive feedback from students.
“I like the idea of CVS because it makes it much easier to buy the things I need without walking down N. Charles,” freshman William Theodorou wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
Freshman Joby Tsai agreed with the sentiment.
“Right now, I think the closest pharmacy is actually quite far away, and having one across the street from Barnes & Noble would be very convenient,” Tsai wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
Sophomore Liz Moriarty responded similarly.
“A CVS nearby would be great, as there’s really no other convenience store close to us without having to drive,” Moriarty wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “It would make picking up random things a lot easier.”
McDonough explained that the other vendors that will be located on 3200 St. Paul have not been decided on yet.
“By way of background, the Development Team, not [Hopkins], selects and negotiates with all retail tenants in this project,” McDonough wrote. “[Hopkins] has limited approval rights over the final retail tenants. The Developer, as the owner and landlord of the project, has the lead responsibility for all building tenants. The Development Team has been actively exploring candidate vendors for the retail space in the 3200 St. Paul Street project. While other candidate tenants are under consideration, no decisions have been made on the other retail tenants.”
Some students were concerned about the number and type of vendors to potentially take space in the building.
“I don’t know how I feel about the entertainment vendors,” Tsai wrote. “It would be a nice addition to the shops in the area but I’m a little concerned that it would make that building a little too busy for the people living there.”
Many current freshman said they would seriously consider applying to live in the new development once it opens for the 2016-2017 academic year.
“I would consider living there because it is close to the food stores on St. Paul’s while still being close to campus,” Theodorou wrote.
“I’m actually excited this is happening,” Tsai wrote. “I would definitely consider living there. I like that it would be close to campus and that it has a pharmacy as well.”
Some current sophomores were less likely to consider moving there for their senior year for logistical reasons. Moriarty is planning to move into the Varsity Apartments at 30 West Biddle Street for her junior year.
“Assuming I liked [my apartment in] the Varsity in [my] junior year, I would definitely stay there rather than having to move,” Moriarty wrote.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The News-Letter.